Certified Trauma Professional: Sex Trafficking

Course Description:

Human sex trafficking is a devastating crime that can impact survivors throughout their lifespan. It is estimated that human sex trafficking generates 99 billion dollars a year in illegal revenue for human traffickers. Human traffickers are a demographically diverse, yet operationally homogenous group and very difficult to identify. Human trafficking victims are equally as diverse, and equally difficult to identify, because they are trained by traffickers to not stand out and to avoid identification at all costs. The cultural complexities of this physically, sexually, mentally, and emotionally abusive criminal enterprise are multidimensional. Human traffickers prey on a victim’s vulnerability. This intense and complex environment of forced dependence—combined with false representations of love—creates co-occurring medical and psychologically relevant alterations in the Nervous System’s operation. This presents as pathology in survivors. For these reasons, sex trafficking survivors can be a difficult population for professionals and paraprofessionals to feel confident when providing them helping services. This three-day training for clinicians and non-clinicians is designed to overcome this limitation by equipping providers with the necessary knowledge and confidence they need when assisting this complex population. This training helps a provider meet a survivor where they are in their healing journey by understanding the culture of their abuse. By understanding where their fears, hesitancies, and learned experiences originate from, a provider can begin to organize effective interventions that create long-term changes in thinking, relating, and experiencing. Healing is desperately needed for all those who have fallen victim to this criminal industry. We look forward to walking with you on your journey to make a difference in an area where it is needed most.

How to take this course: 
This course is offered exclusively through HC Solutions either in-person or as an on-demand online course through this link Certified Trauma Professional: Sex Trafficking. However, Human Sex Trafficking certifications are awarded and maintained by MEMI International. You can request certification from MEMI International after completing the training and passing the final quiz hosted by MEMI. This certification was managed by Trauma Institute International (TII) until 2025, but MEMI International is now responsible for awarding and maintaining the certification. If you hold this certification from TII, you can transfer it to MEMI International by emailing your request to [email protected].

Course/Certification Eligibility: 
This certification course is designed for both clinical professionals and non-clinical paraprofessionals who: encounter or will potentially encounter human sex trafficking survivors; provide services to those exploited through the sex industry; or who support the mental and emotional needs of providers, partners, and advocates in the anti-human trafficking field. Given the diversified number of stakeholders, advocacy organizations, and community partners involved in developing a structure of stability around survivors, this course has both clinically relevant direct treatment-oriented information as well as non-clinical information about survivors, the sex industry, and its impact. A copy of an active professional license or a letter showing your employment in a medical, mental health, or non-profit community partner service-oriented field, industry, or organization is all that is required to be eligible to take the course and receive the certification.